Saturday: We had another great day in the ministry and stayed out until around 2:00pm. A family from the Hall invited my roommate and me to the movies that evening, so after service I took a bus to the theatre to purchase the tickets (all by myself) and then stopped at a store to price out some furniture and appliances. Once home, I tried to catch up on some emails and other things in the afternoon. My roommate made fajitas for dinner (yum!) and then we went to the movies to see Iron Man 3 in 3D that evening - if you liked the first and/ or the second, you will like the third as well.
Sunday: Our talk was given by a visiting brother from TN this morning, the father of a sister who has been serving here for 7 years. After the meeting, we dropped off some items for a sister who's been rather ill and I checked out some computer/ internet issues she was having. Then it was off to the San Roque market to shop for furniture. A local sister was kind enough to meet us there since she was quite familiar with the area and better negotiating power. Mostly I looked around, and made a note of prices. As we were leaving, a living room set caught my eye. Thinking it was too expensive, I didn't say anything. But the sister who accompanied us noticed and asked if I liked it and if I wanted to know how much it was. Sure, I said - it can't hurt. Boy am I glad we did! She even was able to negotiate the price down a little more than he initially quoted and I put a deposit down for him to hold it for me until I could arrange for delivery. I wasn't carrying my phone since its not the best part of town and so I don't have any photos to post yet, but its getting delivered on Tuesday afternoon so I will be sure to post some then. We barely finished shopping before it started pouring down rain!
Afterwards, we headed to the grocery store to do some shopping for ourselves and the sister who is ill. By the time we got back to our house it was around 7:45. Since we were quite tired and hungry, we decided to go out to dinner. We were going to go to the food court at the mall - you just can't beat $2.50 for a grilled chicken breast, rice, menestra (lentils or beans in sauce), a piece of fried plantain and a lemonade (actually - I never drink the lemonade - its really some sort of strange diluted lime water and its pretty nasty), but unfortunately, the stores (including the food court) close early on Sunday night. The only place that was open past 8:00 was TGI Fridays, which we quickly learned is just as expensive and worse quality than it is in the States. Regardless, we scarfed it down like we hadn't eaten in weeks!
Monday, April 29, 2013
Saturday, April 27, 2013
04-24-13 - 04-26-13 Schizophrenic Showers, Sunny Service & Exasperating Events
Wednesday: I decided to stay in one last time just to get a little more rest. Since I didn't do much in the morning, let me tell you about the crazy shower. Ever since we got back from the Circuit Assembly, the water temperature in the shower fluctuates from ice cold to scalding hot. Sometimes without even touching the thermostatic trim handle. Other times, moving it the smallest fraction of an inch (or should I say centimeter?) results in the same dramatic change. Grrr.... this is especially irritating given the cold morning temperatures. I have to play a game of trying to catch the 5 seconds between freezing and boiling to rinse off.
I had an appointment at 4:00 to sign the lease for the apartment and so after lunch, I went out to go to the bank and withdraw money for the deposit. I went to the bank at the nearby mall to do so (its one of the safer places). I went through the transaction, but for some reason, the ATM informed me that the transaction could not be processed. Strange, I thought, since I've been able to withdraw from that bank in the past. I thought perhaps there was some hold on my account so I walked over the coffee shop where there is free WiFi and checked my account. To my dismay, my account showed that the transaction had been successful - including the standard ATM fee and 1% foreign transaction fee. I went back to the bank - the line for customer service was out the door. I asked the guard if there was anyone there who spoke English and could help me. He replied yes, and the man and woman behind me in line said they also spoke English. Seeing the look on my face, the man said, what's wrong - are you okay? I explained to him what happened and was starting to cry when the woman told me that the same thing had happened to her. He calmly said, don't worry, I know how you must feel, but its okay, you will get your money back. It did make me feel better. He explained my situation to the guard, who in turn said that I needed to go to the banks other location (main branch) and they could help me there. So off I went. After speaking to the manager, and waiting twenty minutes or so, he came back and told me that the money should be back in my account tomorrow. I thanked him, but explained that I needed to withdraw money today. He simply shrugged and repeated that I should have my money tomorrow. If not, I would need to have my bank contact their bank. Have your people call my people? Really? Frustrated and discouraged, I returned home. I called my bank and informed them of the situation (just in case) and was forced to instead take a cash advance on my credit card, fees of which set me back an additional $50.00, all thanks to the bank's error. Funny, in Monopoly, the bank error is in your favor. Not so much here.
I had to postpone my appointment by 30 minutes also, but eventually, I made it. My roommate was kind enough to accompany me and helped translate. Finally, it was done. I move in on May 1st :) Pictures are forthcoming...
The meeting was sparse tonight. It turns out a lot of the friends are sick. I guess its going around...
Thursday: Field service - yeah! I feel so out of practice after being sick. We had a nice group meet together and it was a beautiful, sunny day. We are concentrating on working census so that we develop the territories as much as possible before the District Convention campaign. It was a nice morning, despite not finding any English speakers. In the late morning, my friend and I left the group to go do some calls. Then we stopped back at my house for some soup and then met up with my roommate for some more service. Then we traveled north for my study at 5:30. It was 8:30 by the time we got back to our end of town. We wasted about an hour trying to find a tienda open to pick up a few necessary items for dinner. We went back to the house and had a girl's night; we made dinner and then watched a movie - it was so much fun! Too bad it took us forever to decide on a movie - by the time the movie was over it was almost 3:00am!
Friday: Talk about tired. It was so hard to get out of bed this morning. But we did it! The service group met in "the south" this morning, which means an hour and fifteen minute bus ride to get there. It was worth it though - on our very first door, my partner and I set up a Bible study! We had a big group out too so that was extra encouraging. We always have such a nice time :)
Here are some other interesting and random photos from the morning:
I had an appointment at 4:00 to sign the lease for the apartment and so after lunch, I went out to go to the bank and withdraw money for the deposit. I went to the bank at the nearby mall to do so (its one of the safer places). I went through the transaction, but for some reason, the ATM informed me that the transaction could not be processed. Strange, I thought, since I've been able to withdraw from that bank in the past. I thought perhaps there was some hold on my account so I walked over the coffee shop where there is free WiFi and checked my account. To my dismay, my account showed that the transaction had been successful - including the standard ATM fee and 1% foreign transaction fee. I went back to the bank - the line for customer service was out the door. I asked the guard if there was anyone there who spoke English and could help me. He replied yes, and the man and woman behind me in line said they also spoke English. Seeing the look on my face, the man said, what's wrong - are you okay? I explained to him what happened and was starting to cry when the woman told me that the same thing had happened to her. He calmly said, don't worry, I know how you must feel, but its okay, you will get your money back. It did make me feel better. He explained my situation to the guard, who in turn said that I needed to go to the banks other location (main branch) and they could help me there. So off I went. After speaking to the manager, and waiting twenty minutes or so, he came back and told me that the money should be back in my account tomorrow. I thanked him, but explained that I needed to withdraw money today. He simply shrugged and repeated that I should have my money tomorrow. If not, I would need to have my bank contact their bank. Have your people call my people? Really? Frustrated and discouraged, I returned home. I called my bank and informed them of the situation (just in case) and was forced to instead take a cash advance on my credit card, fees of which set me back an additional $50.00, all thanks to the bank's error. Funny, in Monopoly, the bank error is in your favor. Not so much here.
I had to postpone my appointment by 30 minutes also, but eventually, I made it. My roommate was kind enough to accompany me and helped translate. Finally, it was done. I move in on May 1st :) Pictures are forthcoming...
The meeting was sparse tonight. It turns out a lot of the friends are sick. I guess its going around...
Thursday: Field service - yeah! I feel so out of practice after being sick. We had a nice group meet together and it was a beautiful, sunny day. We are concentrating on working census so that we develop the territories as much as possible before the District Convention campaign. It was a nice morning, despite not finding any English speakers. In the late morning, my friend and I left the group to go do some calls. Then we stopped back at my house for some soup and then met up with my roommate for some more service. Then we traveled north for my study at 5:30. It was 8:30 by the time we got back to our end of town. We wasted about an hour trying to find a tienda open to pick up a few necessary items for dinner. We went back to the house and had a girl's night; we made dinner and then watched a movie - it was so much fun! Too bad it took us forever to decide on a movie - by the time the movie was over it was almost 3:00am!
Friday: Talk about tired. It was so hard to get out of bed this morning. But we did it! The service group met in "the south" this morning, which means an hour and fifteen minute bus ride to get there. It was worth it though - on our very first door, my partner and I set up a Bible study! We had a big group out too so that was extra encouraging. We always have such a nice time :)
Here are some other interesting and random photos from the morning:
View of the snow-tipped Cotopaxi Mountain
A young boy was holding this baby chick - so cute!!
View of Pichincha Mountains
This little guy followed us around all morning!
The brother who took the lead that morning lives nearby and invited the group to his house for lunch - yum! Afterwards, I had to hop on a bus to meet a sister in the north center part of town for her study at 3:30 - it took an hour and forty five minutes to get there. While there, I received a call from the cable company cancelling my 5:30 appointment to sign the Internet contract that evening. Some things don't change no matter where you live... After waiting two hours for the study to arrive (running late has a totally different meaning here), I apologized, but had to leave because I had also set up a 6:00 appointment to finalize my lease and get the keys to my new apartment. Since traffic is especially bad on a weekend night, I waited for a while before calling. But at 6:40 when the leasing agent still hadn't shown up, I called. She apologized but said the problem was that her car was in the shop and she wouldn't be able to make it. I took a deep breath and told myself I need to get accustomed to such things - "Welcome to Ecuador!" as the saying goes. So, my roommate and I had dinner and then both went to bed early since we were so exhausted from the night before.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
04-22-13 & 04-23-13 Down with the Sickness
Monday: I slept in this morning because I was feeling so icky :( I searched for apartments in the late morning and then went to a couple appointments. My first appointment was at 3:30 - a second look at an apartment I saw last week, and my second appointment was a new prospect, just two blocks from the Kingdom Hall (the neighborhood is called La Floresta).
The first appointment went well. I was able to double check the bathroom/ shower (something I didn't look closely enough at the first time around). It was actually better (cleaner) than I had remembered. But it was still pink :( I suppose I can live with that, but of all colors - pink? I hate pink. I peeked inside the kitchen cupboards as well - they checked out okay. I also wanted to verify that the water would be hot. There is a small electric (surprisingly not gas) water heater underneath the sink. I am still not quite certain, however, why she instructed me to turn it off after showering - I need to find out if that is really necessary... I was pleasantly surprised to find out there are two small skylights in the master bedroom, though they desperately need paint cleaned off the panes (perhaps that's why I didn't notice them before!). I also met the owner, who lives in the house/ building in front of mine. The leasing agent translated for me (how nice!) and told me the owner really wants me to rent the apartment and she thinks I have the face of an angel. Feel free to laugh out loud - I almost did. She also gave me a hug and told me we were like family. I love Ecuadorian people! In the end, she dropped $20 per month off the rent, included water in the rental price (probably another $5-$10/ month) and is giving me a full size bed-frame and mattress to use. Not bad, eh?
The second appointment was rather disappointing. The location and close proximity to the Hall was about the only good thing about it. It was on the fourth floor of a building. Upon ascending the stairs to the apartment, I couldn't help but notice they were black with dirt. Ugh! So gross! While the overall size of the apartment was large, it was broken up into 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. It reminded me of a college dorm. The place smelled funny and I wasn't sure that a healthy cleaning could fix it. Paint was coming off the walls, the showers were disgusting, and parts of the flooring were missing. Gracias, pero no gracias.
By now, I'm getting tired and my fever has returned. But I trek the dozen or so blocks to the nearest bus stop (that I'm aware of) and head home. I stop at the pharmacy on the corner near my house and realize its scary to self-medicate when you can't read the labels!! I pick up some cough syrup (all natural) and some EC version of Vick's vapor rub. I chug some cough syrup when I get in the door and start making myself chicken soup (with rice and veggies, of course). After having a bowl, I slathered myself with the Vick's from the chest up and suddenly have flash-backs to being a kid. My mom would smear Mentholatum (sp?) all over my nose and about a minute later, I'd have the urge to blow it and wipe it all off. Ah, if only she was here now to make me cinnamon-sugar toast and blackberry tea. I settled for a cup of chamomile and crawled into bed.
Tuesday: I tried to stay in bed this morning despite being bored out of my mind. I hate being sick! I milled about the house the rest of the morning, looking up information on where to find cheap furniture and appliances and some other things around town and then went out to do some errands. First the Movistar (one of the local cell phone carriers) to find out why I can't retrieve my voicemail messages. I had scoured the internet first - surely I'm not the first person to have this problem - but none of the suggestions worked. Well, when it was my turn, the tech/ salesmen told me that the problem was with my phone and that it was only partially unlocked. This didn't really make any sense to me, but who was I to argue with him? So I resorted to putting my chip in my roommate's phone, changing the voicemail message to say "This mailbox cannot receive messages. Please hang up and send a text message instead." Not ideal, but better than nothing.
Next, I went to the post office (I finally figured out where it was.) I had tried to mail a small envelope the week before at the parcel/ shipping store in the mall that services FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc. They wanted nearly $60.00. So off I went to the Ecuadorian postal service. Well, that was a humbling experience. I finally ended up using Google translate on my phone to tell the woman what I wanted. She and the clerk beside her found this hilarious. Oh well. Perhaps I'll be shamed into learning Spanish quicker. Though I can assure you my vocabulary is growing everyday.
After that, I stopped at a plaza of three appliance stores, one right next to the other. I was surprised at how much they want for refrigerators and ovens - much more than they cost in the States! At least I was able to browse around without anyone speaking to me.
Then I went to the grocery store. Ah, that always makes me feel better. Mega Maxi is very reminiscent of WalMart in the sense that in addition to groceries, they also have clothing, appliances, televisions, some furniture, home goods, small electrics, etc., etc. I tend to waste a lot of time meandering around the store. Also in going back and forth between the aisles because I don't quite know/ remember where everything is yet. A short taxi ride later and I was home, just in time to do some RBC work. More chicken soup for dinner, and two more cups of chamomile tea and I'm ready to call it a night.
The first appointment went well. I was able to double check the bathroom/ shower (something I didn't look closely enough at the first time around). It was actually better (cleaner) than I had remembered. But it was still pink :( I suppose I can live with that, but of all colors - pink? I hate pink. I peeked inside the kitchen cupboards as well - they checked out okay. I also wanted to verify that the water would be hot. There is a small electric (surprisingly not gas) water heater underneath the sink. I am still not quite certain, however, why she instructed me to turn it off after showering - I need to find out if that is really necessary... I was pleasantly surprised to find out there are two small skylights in the master bedroom, though they desperately need paint cleaned off the panes (perhaps that's why I didn't notice them before!). I also met the owner, who lives in the house/ building in front of mine. The leasing agent translated for me (how nice!) and told me the owner really wants me to rent the apartment and she thinks I have the face of an angel. Feel free to laugh out loud - I almost did. She also gave me a hug and told me we were like family. I love Ecuadorian people! In the end, she dropped $20 per month off the rent, included water in the rental price (probably another $5-$10/ month) and is giving me a full size bed-frame and mattress to use. Not bad, eh?
The second appointment was rather disappointing. The location and close proximity to the Hall was about the only good thing about it. It was on the fourth floor of a building. Upon ascending the stairs to the apartment, I couldn't help but notice they were black with dirt. Ugh! So gross! While the overall size of the apartment was large, it was broken up into 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. It reminded me of a college dorm. The place smelled funny and I wasn't sure that a healthy cleaning could fix it. Paint was coming off the walls, the showers were disgusting, and parts of the flooring were missing. Gracias, pero no gracias.
By now, I'm getting tired and my fever has returned. But I trek the dozen or so blocks to the nearest bus stop (that I'm aware of) and head home. I stop at the pharmacy on the corner near my house and realize its scary to self-medicate when you can't read the labels!! I pick up some cough syrup (all natural) and some EC version of Vick's vapor rub. I chug some cough syrup when I get in the door and start making myself chicken soup (with rice and veggies, of course). After having a bowl, I slathered myself with the Vick's from the chest up and suddenly have flash-backs to being a kid. My mom would smear Mentholatum (sp?) all over my nose and about a minute later, I'd have the urge to blow it and wipe it all off. Ah, if only she was here now to make me cinnamon-sugar toast and blackberry tea. I settled for a cup of chamomile and crawled into bed.
Tuesday: I tried to stay in bed this morning despite being bored out of my mind. I hate being sick! I milled about the house the rest of the morning, looking up information on where to find cheap furniture and appliances and some other things around town and then went out to do some errands. First the Movistar (one of the local cell phone carriers) to find out why I can't retrieve my voicemail messages. I had scoured the internet first - surely I'm not the first person to have this problem - but none of the suggestions worked. Well, when it was my turn, the tech/ salesmen told me that the problem was with my phone and that it was only partially unlocked. This didn't really make any sense to me, but who was I to argue with him? So I resorted to putting my chip in my roommate's phone, changing the voicemail message to say "This mailbox cannot receive messages. Please hang up and send a text message instead." Not ideal, but better than nothing.
Next, I went to the post office (I finally figured out where it was.) I had tried to mail a small envelope the week before at the parcel/ shipping store in the mall that services FedEx, UPS, DHL, etc. They wanted nearly $60.00. So off I went to the Ecuadorian postal service. Well, that was a humbling experience. I finally ended up using Google translate on my phone to tell the woman what I wanted. She and the clerk beside her found this hilarious. Oh well. Perhaps I'll be shamed into learning Spanish quicker. Though I can assure you my vocabulary is growing everyday.
After that, I stopped at a plaza of three appliance stores, one right next to the other. I was surprised at how much they want for refrigerators and ovens - much more than they cost in the States! At least I was able to browse around without anyone speaking to me.
Then I went to the grocery store. Ah, that always makes me feel better. Mega Maxi is very reminiscent of WalMart in the sense that in addition to groceries, they also have clothing, appliances, televisions, some furniture, home goods, small electrics, etc., etc. I tend to waste a lot of time meandering around the store. Also in going back and forth between the aisles because I don't quite know/ remember where everything is yet. A short taxi ride later and I was home, just in time to do some RBC work. More chicken soup for dinner, and two more cups of chamomile tea and I'm ready to call it a night.
Monday, April 22, 2013
04-20-13 & 04-21-13 Weekend Dinner and a Movie
Saturday: We had a nice, long day in service (despite the afternoon rain), checked on a sister who has been ill and bought tickets for the evening showing of Oblivion (prime-time/ weekend movie tickets are only $5.50 - all other times are even less!), an interesting, but highly predictable plot.
Sunday: We had lunch after the meeting with some friends from the Hall, then went back to the house and I did some RBC work and looked for more apartments in the paper and online. Then we ran a few errands in the afternoon and headed back to the house since some other friends were coming over for dinner. My roommate made an Arabic meal, which everyone seemed to enjoy. I still have this cough that won't go away, and someone told me today that it may just be the pollution :(
Sunday: We had lunch after the meeting with some friends from the Hall, then went back to the house and I did some RBC work and looked for more apartments in the paper and online. Then we ran a few errands in the afternoon and headed back to the house since some other friends were coming over for dinner. My roommate made an Arabic meal, which everyone seemed to enjoy. I still have this cough that won't go away, and someone told me today that it may just be the pollution :(
Saturday, April 20, 2013
04-18-13 & 04-19-13 Searching... for English speakers and apartments
Thursday: I met the group for service this morning at 8:45am. There were only 5 of us out this am, but we had a pleasant morning doing census work. One of our stops was a Catholic children's school. Hmm... we hesitated, but then agreed that we should ring the bell and ask for any English speakers. A nun came to the gate and told us that "yes, there is a teacher who speaks English". She asked us several times what the purpose of our visit was, but my partner replied each time that we had literature available in English. After waiting about 5 minutes, a nice woman approached and said hello. I explained to her that we are volunteers looking for those in Quito who speak English because we enjoy discussing the Bible and no doubt she was a person on faith, so I inquired if she had a few minutes to speak with us. She said that she would have a break in 5 minutes and could speak with us more then. She invited us into her (empty) classroom and we briefly discussed world conditions and whether or not she felt things would ever improve. She began to tell us how poorly behaved the children she teaches are, and how parents aren't teaching their children about the bible. I told her that we have age-appropriate information for young children, pre-teen youths and teenagers and that I would return with them. She was delighted! I also told her about the various aspects/ sections on the website and she expressed that she was eager to show some of her students. I handed her a copy of the "Bible Teach" book and showed her some of the topics that we discuss with adults. She appreciated that the information contained therein was completely supported by Scriptures. We exchanged phone numbers and she asked me to return next week on Thursday because she has a longer period of time available between classes. We were all so excited! Who would have thought that our best call that morning was at a Catholic school?
I arrived home for lunch around 1:00pm and almost made it inside before it started pouring rain with dime-sized hail. In five minutes, there was not a dry spot on me, despite having an umbrella. I quickly changed into some dry clothes and wrote down information relative to the two appointments I had scheduled for later that afternoon. Both appointments turned out to be rather disappointing :( It didn't help that the weather was cold and rainy all afternoon (but at least the hail stopped). So, I decided to clean the house a bit and move my things into my bedroom and unpack a few things for the first time since I've been here. Hard to believe that its been a month already! Then, I decided to prepare some food for the next couple days: beef stir-fry with brown rice and a pot of chili (sounded good on a day like today). I cleaned up the kitchen and tidied up a bit more and decided to call it a night.
Friday: We had a nice day in service, doing census work - it was hot and I got burned... again. Note to self: Buy sunscreen. Here is a photo of the view from the street we were working and a few of our group:
We stopped for lunch around 12:30 at the Mall and then did some return visits in the afternoon. At 4:15pm, I left for my study. It was pouring rain again, which makes it difficult to get on the bus because they are so crowded. Its also a weekend night, and so many people are out and about. I arrived (slightly late) to my study, but was pleased that both the mom and daughter were there and ready. The mom made me hot tea and served me a piece of cheesecake that the daughter had made. I felt so spoiled!! Then they gave me a ride back home in their car so I wouldn't have to take the bus after dark. Traffic was so backed up that it took 1 hour and 45 minutes to get home! That night, my roommate made dinner for some friends of hers and we had a nice evening eating and listening to music.
I arrived home for lunch around 1:00pm and almost made it inside before it started pouring rain with dime-sized hail. In five minutes, there was not a dry spot on me, despite having an umbrella. I quickly changed into some dry clothes and wrote down information relative to the two appointments I had scheduled for later that afternoon. Both appointments turned out to be rather disappointing :( It didn't help that the weather was cold and rainy all afternoon (but at least the hail stopped). So, I decided to clean the house a bit and move my things into my bedroom and unpack a few things for the first time since I've been here. Hard to believe that its been a month already! Then, I decided to prepare some food for the next couple days: beef stir-fry with brown rice and a pot of chili (sounded good on a day like today). I cleaned up the kitchen and tidied up a bit more and decided to call it a night.
Friday: We had a nice day in service, doing census work - it was hot and I got burned... again. Note to self: Buy sunscreen. Here is a photo of the view from the street we were working and a few of our group:
We stopped for lunch around 12:30 at the Mall and then did some return visits in the afternoon. At 4:15pm, I left for my study. It was pouring rain again, which makes it difficult to get on the bus because they are so crowded. Its also a weekend night, and so many people are out and about. I arrived (slightly late) to my study, but was pleased that both the mom and daughter were there and ready. The mom made me hot tea and served me a piece of cheesecake that the daughter had made. I felt so spoiled!! Then they gave me a ride back home in their car so I wouldn't have to take the bus after dark. Traffic was so backed up that it took 1 hour and 45 minutes to get home! That night, my roommate made dinner for some friends of hers and we had a nice evening eating and listening to music.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
04-15-13 - 04-17-13 Back to Quito
Monday: We arrived back around 8:30 this morning and I spent the day "catching up"; unpacking, organizing, grocery shopping and cooking. I was still pretty tired from the overnight bus, and though we had such a wonderful time in Cuenca and at the Circuit Assembly, I was glad to be back.
Tuesday: Today I slept in and then went for a walk/ run at the nearby Carolina Park. It felt good to get some true exercise (finally!) Once I returned to the house, I did some cleaning and then began searching for apartments again and made an appointment to visit the next day. I contacted a few of my return visits to set up appointments and did some RBC work in the afternoon/ evening and then reviewed some options for my next visa application. The one roommate departed today and so it was the first night I had a bed and room to myself - yea!!
Wednesday: I woke up earlier this morning and headed to Carolina Park again for another run/ walk. I did some more food prep and cooking after returning home and searched online for more apartments. Just when I was ready to leave for my 2:00pm appointment, the woman called me to reschedule for 5:30pm that afternoon, which I arrived fashionably late for. My taxi driver had no clue where he was going, despite giving him directions. He kept missing the turn and stopped three times to ask passersby where the street was. I finally pulled out my map and showed him, then had to direct him at each turn. Meanwhile, the meter is running so I am paying for his mistake. In fact, it cost me more than three times what it should have been :( Finally, I arrived. The apartment had been recently remodeled, it smelled clean, fresh and free of any mold, mildew or other mustiness. The floor was new, and the cabinets/ shelving in the bedrooms was new as well. The price was reasonable, but no furnishings or appliances were included. From there, I tried to catch a taxi for the meeting. After twenty-five minutes, I began to get frustrated - it seemed like everyone but a taxi was trying to pick me up!! Finally, I was successful and headed off to the meeting. Once there, I felt better. Afterwards, one of our elders and his wife were kind enough to give us a ride home. I hadn't eaten before the meeting so I made corvina (sea bass) - cajun style - and asparagus when I got home - yum!! Then it was off to bed!
Tuesday: Today I slept in and then went for a walk/ run at the nearby Carolina Park. It felt good to get some true exercise (finally!) Once I returned to the house, I did some cleaning and then began searching for apartments again and made an appointment to visit the next day. I contacted a few of my return visits to set up appointments and did some RBC work in the afternoon/ evening and then reviewed some options for my next visa application. The one roommate departed today and so it was the first night I had a bed and room to myself - yea!!
Wednesday: I woke up earlier this morning and headed to Carolina Park again for another run/ walk. I did some more food prep and cooking after returning home and searched online for more apartments. Just when I was ready to leave for my 2:00pm appointment, the woman called me to reschedule for 5:30pm that afternoon, which I arrived fashionably late for. My taxi driver had no clue where he was going, despite giving him directions. He kept missing the turn and stopped three times to ask passersby where the street was. I finally pulled out my map and showed him, then had to direct him at each turn. Meanwhile, the meter is running so I am paying for his mistake. In fact, it cost me more than three times what it should have been :( Finally, I arrived. The apartment had been recently remodeled, it smelled clean, fresh and free of any mold, mildew or other mustiness. The floor was new, and the cabinets/ shelving in the bedrooms was new as well. The price was reasonable, but no furnishings or appliances were included. From there, I tried to catch a taxi for the meeting. After twenty-five minutes, I began to get frustrated - it seemed like everyone but a taxi was trying to pick me up!! Finally, I was successful and headed off to the meeting. Once there, I felt better. Afterwards, one of our elders and his wife were kind enough to give us a ride home. I hadn't eaten before the meeting so I made corvina (sea bass) - cajun style - and asparagus when I got home - yum!! Then it was off to bed!
Monday, April 15, 2013
04-12-13 - 04-14-13 Pioneer Meeting & Circuit Assembly
Friday: After a good night's sleep, we got up and went to the grocery store to pick up a few items, then home quick to change and head to the pioneer meeting. There were 128 in attendance! (Some interesting stats given at our assembly: There are a total of 256 publishers in the English circuit, of which 136 are pioneers and a total of 442 bible studies are currently being conducted.) The talks, experiences, demonstrations and the association were all so very encouraging!!
After the meeting, we went to the bus terminal to purchase our tickets for our return trip, home to change quick and off to meet our friends for dinner and ice cream. (Yes, I did eat ice cream again)
Saturday: Circuit Assembly Day One - Don't worry, there will be no spoilers posted. However, the entire assembly program was very up building and "just what I needed". I especially appreciated when our Circuit Overseer reminded us that we should not be surprised by this. Jehovah knows exactly what we need, so it is no coincidence that the information presented comes just at the right time. How true!
Dinner Saturday night was at a fancy Italian restaurant - I had the most amazing grilled sea bass and vegetables over rice in a lemon saffron sauce - I would have licked the plate clean if I could have!
I have to confess, I was starting to think that Cuenca would be a nice place to serve; the air is cleaner, the people are extremely friendly, its a little safer and has a "small town" feel to it... but that night, I got a text message reply from the woman I had met at the Memorial and offered a bible study - she apologized for not getting back to me sooner, told me she would be out of town until the following week and ended her message with "many thanks for asking! I would love to study the Bible with you!" Clearly, Quito is the place for me!
Sunday: Circuit Assembly Day Two: Another spiritual feast! Some of you might recognize the "child" on the left in this demonstration... (one of SW Florida's own). Hopefully you can zoom in.
Sunday: Circuit Assembly Day Two: Another spiritual feast! Some of you might recognize the "child" on the left in this demonstration... (one of SW Florida's own). Hopefully you can zoom in.
Here are a few pictures of your brothers and sisters from all over the world serving in Ecuador:
But alas! Its all over so quickly and soon we are back on the bus headed to Quito:
Friday, April 12, 2013
04-10-13 & 04-11-13 Prep Work & Arrival in Cuenca
Wednesday: I had to return a third time to pick up my visa registration documents, so I got there about a half hour after they opened. The office was very crowded. According to my ticket, there were 76 people in front of me and my estimated wait time was 45 minutes :( An hour and 45 minutes later my number was finally called. And five minutes after that, I was out the door, documents in hand. Finally! :-)
Then it was home to finish packing and preparing food for the assembly. After calling at least a dozen taxi companies, we decided to just try to snag one on the street. We rushed to the bus station and arrived with ten minutes to spare. Enough time for a photo!
We had to fight with the bus driver to put our luggage in the storage area, apparently the passengers who were already on the bus (picked up at a northern stop) had already filled the space. After much insisting and pleading, they consented and shoved most of our bags inside. A few had to go on the bus.
It was a long night, but I listened to music and dozed off and on throughout the night.
After eight and a half hours, we arrived, safe and sound :-)
Thursday: We took a taxi to my roommate's friend's house. They were so nice to take us in. Their apartment was lovely and I found myself wishing for just such accommodations in Quito. They even had made breakfast (and coffee) for us!
After we all showered we met up with our other friends for lunch.
We then split up and a few of us went for ice cream and walked around Parque De Calderon and the surrounding market.
Later in the evening, we walked to a small restaurant and had grilled kabobs for dinner - they were so delicious (and only $1.25 each)!! We went to sleep pretty quickly after returning home because we were so exhausted from the bus ride the night before.
Then it was home to finish packing and preparing food for the assembly. After calling at least a dozen taxi companies, we decided to just try to snag one on the street. We rushed to the bus station and arrived with ten minutes to spare. Enough time for a photo!
We had to fight with the bus driver to put our luggage in the storage area, apparently the passengers who were already on the bus (picked up at a northern stop) had already filled the space. After much insisting and pleading, they consented and shoved most of our bags inside. A few had to go on the bus.
It was a long night, but I listened to music and dozed off and on throughout the night.
Thursday: We took a taxi to my roommate's friend's house. They were so nice to take us in. Their apartment was lovely and I found myself wishing for just such accommodations in Quito. They even had made breakfast (and coffee) for us!
After we all showered we met up with our other friends for lunch.
Later in the evening, we walked to a small restaurant and had grilled kabobs for dinner - they were so delicious (and only $1.25 each)!! We went to sleep pretty quickly after returning home because we were so exhausted from the bus ride the night before.
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